WESTERN Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge has confirmed the club will trade star forward Jake Stringer, if the right deal can be found.
In an interview with News Corp, Beveridge said the Dogs and Stringer had mutually agreed for the 2016 premiership player to seek a new home.
Geelong and Essendon are reportedly frontrunners to snare the former No.5 draft pick.
"Jake’s management and the club got together and both agreed we’d explore alternatives to him playing at the club and explore what’s right for his long-term future and the club’s," Beveridge said.
"It’s as simple as that ... I’m not going into details."
Stringer was one of a number of Dogs below their best in 2017 as they became the first premiership side to miss finals the next season since Hawthorn in 2009.
The 23-year-old booted 24 goals in 16 games this season and battled soft-tissue injuries.
He appeared on the cusp of becoming one of the AFL's elite players after an All Australian campaign in 2015 when he booted 56 goals.
But Stringer's output has dipped to 64 goals in the past two years and he is now on the trade table.
"Ultimately, he’s still a contracted player (until 2018)," Beveridge said.
"We’re not going to just say, ‘Here you go, you can have Jake Stringer’.
"We’ve said to him, you’re going to play here mate if no one is going to treat you with the respect you should have as far as what you have achieved, because we need to do what’s right for the club as much as you as well.
"We’ll try to work it out together."
Beveridge revealed Stringer was dealing with some difficult off-field challenges in his personal life, and laughed off reports he stormed out of an end of season exit meeting.
Want to get alerts when the really big finals news breaks?
Fire up the AFL Finals Assistant on Messenger and get:
- daily finals video wraps
- news alerts when the really big finals news breaks
- finals fixture alerts
The tech-powered bot can also help you find all kinds of finals info, from ticket on-sale dates to the route of the Grand Final parade.
To start your conversation, search for 'AFL' within the Messenger app. Or, click here
